Time for another installment of Triangle Foodie Happenings! These are events coming up in the next week that I wish I could make, but hopefully you can! We really do have a ridiculous amount of foodie fun options in this area. Spanish Wine Dinner with Laurence Vuelta at Jujube! 4/30, 7 pm, $47. Jujube’s wine
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26 April, 2013
Trader Joe’s Grande Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2011
Posted in : Pinot Noir, Red Wine on by : The Gourmez Tags: 2011, berry, boysenberry, christine ashworth, cocoa, fig newton, notes, reserve carneros, review, sweet, tart, tasting notes, tj's wine community, trader joe's, vino duoTrader Joe’s Grande Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2011 Napa, California I tasted this wine before purchasing it at Trader Joe’s, and I’m glad the sample convinced me to get a bottle. Its rich, medium-bodied boysenberry digs into me and won’t let go. The nose has a fleeting burst of fig newton, but is otherwise lackluster.
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22 April, 2013
Flights
Comments : 2 Posted in : Dining in Raleigh - NC, Restaurants on by : The Gourmez Tags: amuse bouche, apple crumble, bacon, banana cake, beet risotto, boar, cheddar risotto, dining, dinner, flights, hot cheesecake, maple pork chop, marriot, new chef, north hills, pork belly, raleigh, renaissance hotel, resesarch triangle park, review, roasted cauliflower, rtp, scallop, service, southern sushi, sweet potato bisque, transition, trout, upscaleFlights 4100 Main at North Hills North Hills Renaissance, Raleigh Website Entrees: $17–$28 Normally, I jump right into a review, leaving any musings on my experience for the end. This one requires more set up because Flights is in a transition period and it shows. So you should understand before I go on what
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19 April, 2013
Meadow of Love Absinthe Superieure
Posted in : Absinthe on by : The Gourmez Tags: absinthe fm, absinthe superior, anise, delaware phoenix distillery, floral, grassy, la fee verte, lemon balm, louche, meadow of love, mint, north american, ny, oakes lawn, review, santa cruz, superieure, sweet, the hooch life, ucsc, violet, walton, wormwoodMeadow of Love Absinthe Superieure Delaware Phoenix Distillery Walton, NY Let’s be real — Meadow of Love is a very hippie name for a spirit. And let me be realer — hippie names speak my language. I went to college in Santa Cruz, people. I’m not an ideal hippie myself, but the culture is
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17 April, 2013
Rise
Comments : 3 Posted in : Dining in Durham - NC, Restaurants on by : The Gourmez Tags: banana pudding, biscuit, donut, donut holes, durham, huevos rancheros, local ingredients, maple bacon donut, only burger, pig in a blanket, pineapple basil donut, renaissance shopping center, review, rise, south durham, soutpoint, tom ferguson, white cheddarRise 1800 Renaissance Parkway Southpoint, Durham Website $1–$5 Rise is the newest venture by Durham Catering Co. chef and owner Tom Ferguson, who you may know for that little food truck and brick and mortar store called Only Burger of which he is a part-owner. Only Burger has earned a lot of cred in the
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15 April, 2013
Review Bragging – New WRAL Post
Posted in : Announcements, Dining in Durham - NC, Restaurants on by : The Gourmez Tags: beans, carpe durham, durham, fast, greenwood commons, inca gold, lunch, out and about, review, rice, sarah's empanadas, wral, WRALI’m a little (a lot) behind on the times in that I’m just now posting this teaser here, and it was published about a month ago at WRAL‘s Out and About blog. Oops! My time from reviewing a spot/drink to posting about it is on a month lag right now, so that’s par for the
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12 April, 2013
LaCheteau Vouvray 2011
Comments : 2 Posted in : Vouvray, White Wine on by : The Gourmez Tags: 2011 vintage, acidic, buttery, custard, france, honeydew, lacheteau, loire valley, review, sweet, tasting notes, the wannabe sommelier, welcome to the wine nookLaCheteau Vouvray 2011 Loire Valley, France The nose of this white wine is subdued. Honeydew and the tickle of tannins are all I get from it. On tasting, it initially reminds me of Southern white wines with a lot of sweetness. Luckily, a healthy dose of acidity counteracts that. It’s bright and buttery, and lime,
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10 April, 2013
Kinston, NC, Blogging: Chef and the Farmer
Comments : 6 Posted in : Dining in Kinston - NC, Restaurants on by : The Gourmez Tags: benjamin knight, bourbon dark chocolate ice cream, carolina gold rice risotto, charred scallion, chef and the farmer, coffee, day trip, dinner, downtown, farm to fork, farmers, kinston, local produce, mixed greens, north carolina, pasta, pecan pie, poached egg, pork shoulder, port, restaurant, review, sugared nuts, turnip salad, upscale, visitor guide, vivian howardKinston, NC, Blogging: Chef and the Farmer This is the third and final installment on our recent day trip to Kinston, NC. Blog 1 covered the various ways we amused ourselves by the Neuse riverfront last month. Blog 2 was on Mother Earth Brewing, which we were delighted to discover is based in downtown Kinston
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8 April, 2013
Fairview Dining Room Spring 2013 Media Lunch
Comments : 2 Posted in : Dining in Durham - NC, Restaurants on by : The Gourmez Tags: bacon-wrapped shrimp, bavarian cream, brown butter, canneloni beans, chevre, cottle farms kale, duck, fairview dining room, financier, goat lady dairy, inn, kale salad, limoncello mousse, pistachios, preview, restaurant, review, rhubarb, scallop souffle, spring menu, sunchoke chips, verbana, washington dukeFairview Dining Room Spring 2013 Media Lunch Another spring, another media lunch preview of the new menus at the Washington Duke Inn! This was the third time I’d been invited, and getting these views into Chef Jason Cunningham’s dishes is always quite fun and delicious. In addition to a free lunch, we were gifted with
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5 April, 2013
Double Black Diamond Martini at Firebird’s Grill
Comments : 18 Posted in : Bars and Tasting Rooms, Bars in Durham - NC on by : The Gourmez Tags: bar, citron vodka, cocktail, double black diamond, firebirds, grill, grit, infusion, martini, pineapple, review, smooth, southpoint, svedkaDouble Black Diamond Martini Firebirds Southpoint, Durham $10 This martini doesn’t have a long list of ingredients, but classic martinis never do, subsisting on quality liquor with a personalized touch of what gets the drinker’s juices flowing whether vermouth, blue-cheese-stuffed olives, or cocktail onions. The Double Black Diamond martini is even simpler than that, just
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